History of A Hero
by NeoVaihlo
Summary: The story of Koaru Mazaki and Asumi Tsubaki as they grwe up under the eye of Rock and learned the ways of battle before joining the Grandall Army.
1. Prologue

History of a Hero

Prologue

The titan walked through the wreckage of the camp, shaking his head in disbelief and saying slow prayers to the dead. All around were corpses of men, women and children. The fire pits where they nomads had been cooking their supper flickered in the wind, and the titan wondered what had struck this encampment.

In the darkness, he froze and listened. He heard sobbing, from a child, he thought. Turning to the direction of the noise, he sped his slow walk to the location of the noise. A small boy, no older than five, sat hunched over the body of his mother and father. The titan crouched down, and the boy looked up. The sight of the giant man silenced the boy instantly, but his eyes burned in a way that the man had never seen before. Suddenly the boy leapt up at the man and slashed his cheek with a knife he had been holding. The man hopped up in surprise, and the boy attacked again, thrusting the knife down at the man's foot. All the boy struck, however, was the solid head of the man's huge war hammer. The boy froze in shock, and the man swept down and patted his hand on the boy's back, knocking the wind from his lungs. The boy fell forward, unconscious. The titan picked him up and set him on his shoulder, then turned to look at the boy's fallen parents.

"I'll take care of him." Rock said as he turned and left the site of the massacre, the wind gather force as it rolled in the first storm of the spring.


	2. Family Anew

Tale 1: Family Anew

The smell of fresh grass and straw filled his nose, causing his pleasant dream to waver in his mind. Consciousness was calling him, but he wasn't ready to wake up. Footsteps came from somewhere, and he knew what was coming next.

"Get up." Said a smooth female voice, and the boy rolled over, pulling the blanket up higher. The footsteps left, and he felt himself start to drift off to sleep…until the ice cold water slammed into him, soaking through the blanket and his clothes.

"What in the blazing Nine Hells?!" the boy screamed as he leapt out of the bed and turned to face the doorway. A young girl stood there, holding an empty bucket in her hands, her dark blue hair tied into several ponytails at the back of her head. She wore old robes that had been torn to the right length for her tiny form.

"Daddy wants you to meet him outside." She said, then turned and left. The boy stood there, dripping wet and realizing that he wasn't with his parents or the rest of his tribe. Then he remembered the night, the lone man in the black armor and the sword with the eye who had slaughtered everyone, his mother leaping in front of him to protect him from the sword…

Rock looked up when the boy came out from the house. He smiled as he saw the wet clothes, then turned to his adopted daughter.

"Asumi…" he said, to which she retorted, "What? You said get him up by any means necessary." Rock threw his head back and roared with laughter, truly amazed by the wit of the girl. Then looked back to the boy, he called, "Boy! Come here!"

The boy walked over, not overly excited about talking to the man who had knocked him out the night before. Cowering in the man's shadow, he kept his gaze fixed on the grass.

"What is your name?" Rock asked, and the murmured something. "Sorry." Rock said, lowering his head. "Didn't hear you."

"I said my name is Koaru!" the boy shouted, and Rock nodded with a smile.

"Well, Koaru, I am Rock. This is my daughter Asumi." He said, indicating the girl. Koaru glared at her with hatred burning in his eyes.

"We're met." He growled, and Rock roared with laughter as Asumi put on a smile that radiated with innocence. Rock stopped laughing and looked at Koaru, his expression now concerned.

"You know what happened last night, or do you remember?" he asked, and Koaru slowly nodded, his fists clenched at his sides. Rock nodded somberly, understanding what must be going through the young boy's head. Asumi stood of to the side, confused by the silence in the area. Suddenly Rock stood up and walked over to him, giving the boy a hug, and Asumi felt a pang of jealousy.

"Hey!" she shouted, and both Rock and Koaru looked at her. "Tell me what the hell is going on!" she screamed, and Rock stood to speak, but Koaru started before he could.

"My tribe was massacred last night." He said, his voice shaky yet strong, the tears barely visible in his words. "Everyone was killed, my mother, my father, my brothers-"

"Who cares?!?" Asumi shouted, and Rock shot her a glare. Ignoring the look, Asumi spoke her mind. "So what if your family is dead? So is mine! Do I cry about it? No! So quit feeling sorry for yourself and move on, you baby!"

Rock didn't even bother to stop Koaru as the boy ran at Asumi, fist clenched and teeth gritted, not caring if she was a girl, just knowing that he was going to shut her up. Asumi didn't even budge as he neared her, but as he launched his punch, she side stepped him, grabbing his passing fist and placing her foot in front of him. She felt his foot strike her own, and she pulled his fist down, the force and his momentum throwing him into the air and sending him crashing on his back six feet away.

Rock couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing again as he watched Koaru shakily get back to his feet, his eyes still burning and fists still clenched.

"Give up, Koaru!" he called, walking over to Asumi and setting a hand on her shoulder. "I trained from the day I adopted her, and if you can even touch her in a fight I would start to believe in miracles." Rock then walked past Asumi and knelt in front of Koaru. "You lost your family, boy. But now you have a new one, if you want."

Koaru couldn't stop himself. He hugged Rock and burst into tears, Asumi watching, now feeling sorry for the dumb boy.


	3. Guilt of Loss

Tale 2: Guilt of Loss

The next week found Koaru and Asumi as bitter rivals in everything from chores to eating the most rice at supper. Rock never intervened, knowing that it would benefit them both in the long run, though he couldn't help but worry every time Asumi whooped Koaru in weapons training. The boy was nine, and Asumi was only six, yet she had never been hit by Koaru's attacks. Even the other day, Rock had watched in amazement when Koaru rushed Asumi after she had turned her back and made to strike her in the back of the head with his wooden sword, only to have the girl turn, grab the wooden blade, sweep her left foot into Koaru's feet, and using the combined momentum to send the boy flying down the hill and into the river.

But now he worried, since he had to leave the children and go to the city for supplies and to accept a challenge he had received the previous day. He had told them, of course, but he knew that the two days of his absence would mean more brutal beatings on Koaru's pride.

Koaru and Asumi watched as Rock disappeared into the horizon, the giant hammer on his shoulder and white vest blowing in the wind. Once he was out of sight, Asumi turned back to the house and ordered Koaru to fetch water from the nearby well.

"What makes you think that I'll listen to you?" Koaru barked, and Asumi spun around and kicked him square in the forehead, knocking the boy off his feet and to the ground. Rubbing his backside, he glared up at Asumi as she stood over him in triumph.

"That." She said, turning back to the house and walking away, Koaru's glare never leaving her back.

Koaru returned an hour later with two large buckets full to the brim with clear well water. Setting the buckets down, he started into the house, but froze when he heard sobbing coming from the kitchen. Slowly and quietly pushing the wooden door open, he saw Asumi sitting at the makeshift table, head in her arms, crying. Koaru, of course, was in shock. How could he be losing every fight to a crybaby girl? He started to back away, but as he did, the door creaked, and Asumi jumped in shock and stared at Koaru, who just stood there, frozen in the same shock.

"What are you doing here?!" Asumi shouted, and Koaru started to speak, to tell her he had the water, but she grabbed a bowl from the table and threw it, hitting Koaru squarely in the face. The feeling of broken pottery and sugar covered Koaru's face, along with the loud crack that he took as his nose breaking and the warmth of blood that began to pour from the injury. Leaping back, he ducked just as a knife flew over his head, and Asumi continued to scream. "Get out! Get out! You bastard! Leave me alone!" Koaru ducked lower and swept his foot into the door, slamming it shut just as several more knives left Asumi's grip. Turning and running back down the hill, the only noise that Koaru heard was the dull thunks of the knives imbedding themselves into the door.

Asumi stood, panting, staring at the door, tears running down her face, a small trickle of blood running from her hand from one of the knives she threw. The guilt of her actions slammed into her, and she dropped to her knees, her arms squeezing around her middle, a new wave of tears pouring down her face. Slamming her head to the wooden floor, she sobbed.

"I'm sorry, Mother, Father, Kira. I'm sorry…Koaru…"


	4. Running From A Memory

Tale 3: Running From a Memory

Koaru spent that evening in the meadow, finding the flock of sheep more comforting than the prospect of returning to the house and facing Asumi's wrath. The morning sun warmed the boy's face, yet he had no interest in waking up, but the familiar voice asking him to wake up brought him to the world all to soon. Opening his eyes and seeing Asumi standing over him was all to much for Koaru. He yelped and rolled back, trying to distance himself from the vicious girl. Asumi, however, didn't budge, just watched him move, her eyes soft and sorrowful, an expression Koaru had never seen before.

"Are you alright?" he asked cautiously, worried to offend her again. Asumi crossed her legs and sat on the grass, the bowed her head.

"I'm fine." She said, though Koaru knew she was full of it. He had been taught by his mother that when someone said they were 'fine' after doing something like what Asumi pulled the previous night, they meant that they were Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and an Emotional wreck. Koaru could see that it was all true in this case.

"Don't lie." He said easily, stepping up to her and sitting down on his knees. Asumi looked up, tears swimming on the edge of her eyes. Biting her lower lip, she broke down and flung herself at Koaru, who jumped as she grabbed hold of him, wrapping her arms around him and crying uncontrollably into his chest. Awkwardly, Koaru patted her on the back, not knowing what else to do. Strangely, he felt comfortable with this, as though there was nothing better to be doing.

It made no sense to him.

Later that day both Koaru and Asumi went into the woods to gather more wood for the fire pit and the makeshift stove in the kitchen. As they gathered, Koaru told Asumi about his clan, how they had been nomads, following their food, always on the move.

"Another thing I should mention…" Koaru said as he picked up a tree branch and placed it in the basket on his back. "I wasn't born into that clan…I was…given to them. I never met my real parents."

Asumi stopped and looked at him, as though she had never seen him before. She had known her parents, but this…was it better, she wondered, to have never met your parents and know that they are still out there, or t have known your parents and know that they are dead? Asumi looked back to the ground, then set the basket down and sat down.

"Koaru…do you…do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked, and Koaru set his basket down and walked over to a large branch.

"No idea." He said as he started to break the branch into smaller pieces. Asumi lowered her head.

"I see." She said, then looked back to him. "I…I have a brother…an older brother."

Koaru froze and turned to look at her. "I thought that everyone was dead." He said without thinking, and Asumi bit her lip to stop herself from yelling at him.

"No." she finally said, then looked at Koaru, her eyes watering again. "My brother…Kira, he…he killed my whole family."

Koaru dropped the pieces of the branch he was holding and stared at Asumi, thoroughly shocked. "Why?" he asked, his voice little more than a whisper. Asumi shook her head, tears flying in all directions.

"I just woke up one morning and…they were all dead. Murdered in their sleep and…and Kira was standing outside, his sword covered in blood, his eyes burning purple…not green but that evil glow…why…" Asumi broke off and started to cry again. Koaru ran over to her and hugged her, and she threw her arms around him, sobbing on his shoulder while he simply held her.

"It's ok." Koaru said, tightening his grip on her. "No one will ever hurt you ever again." Asumi's sobs stopped for a moment, her breath coming in hiccoughs. "I promise." Koaru said, resting his head on hers. Asumi cried again, only this time, for the first time in a long time, with a feeling of peace inside her.


End file.
